SWMD 95

~Chapter 95~

“Puhahahahaha!”

Catherine’s loud, coarse laughter filled the room.

“That stupid expression on her face!”

She laughed so hard she kicked her legs on the bed.

“Did you see that, Eclipse?”

“Yes.”

“This is all thanks to you.”

Catherine jumped up from the bed and looked at Eclipse with a satisfied smile.

“But…”

Her grin faded into curiosity.

“What do you want from me?”

“From you?”

Eclipse snorted as if the question was absurd. He had no real interest in humans.

He only wanted amusement… and to show Rueiri that even turning back time wouldn’t change a thing, that despair was unavoidable.

Repeating the same past again and again—how fun would that be?

Eclipse smirked wickedly at the thought.

“Catherine!”

Catherine was about to respond when someone burst into her room. Her laughing face froze instantly, but she quickly forced a mocking smile.

“Oh my, how rude.”

“Rude?”

Aisel marched straight toward Catherine.

“The one who was truly rude was you—poisoning my guest.”

Aisel’s voice was low and sharp like a growling beast. Her eyes radiated deadly intent.

“What are you talking about? You were the one who poisoned him, sister,” Catherine lied easily.

“Stop with the pathetic act, Catherine.”

Aisel’s harsh words wiped the smirk off Catherine’s lips.

“You think I want to put on an act with a lowborn like you?”

Aisel gritted her teeth. Catherine’s constant insults of “lowborn, lowborn” were getting old.

Soon, the one being kicked out of this mansion would not be Aisel, the Duke’s true daughter, but Catherine, the illegitimate one.

Aisel shook her head coldly, no longer willing to waste words.

“The maid who pretended to be you…”

Catherine’s shoulders twitched.

“…already confessed everything to me. How stupid.”

Now it was Aisel who was smiling.

“I heard the Duchess has arrived. I’ll be speaking with her right now.”

“What…?”

Catherine’s violet eyes trembled.

Those worthless maids already confessed?!

She exhaled a sharp, panicked breath and stammered,

“W-Wait…”

“Goodbye.”

Aisel gave her a bright smile and left the room. Catherine stared blankly at the empty doorway, swallowing hard.

What do I do now…?

Her mind raced, but no matter how she thought, there was no way to overturn the situation now that Aisel had a witness.

“Eclipse!”

In the end, she could only turn to him for help.

Eclipse, who had disappeared when Aisel entered, reappeared from the shadows.

How troublesome this girl was… but she was still useful. He couldn’t end things just yet.

“I’ll stop her,” Eclipse said, baring his sharp teeth before vanishing into black smoke.

* * *

“Mother, I found a witness! Oh…?”

“Welcome, Lady Aisel.”

As Serena was about to leave, she and Aisel ran into each other in the room.

Feeling guilty, Aisel carefully approached the Duchess.

“Duchess… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have invited the young lord…”

She couldn’t lift her head. Even though Sawyer had taken the antidote, he was still unconscious after being poisoned because of her invitation.

Aisel’s shoulders slumped, and her voice trembled as if she might cry.

Serena approached with a firm expression. Aisel closed her eyes, ready for the Duchess to slap her.

But instead, something completely unexpected happened.

“Duchess…?”

Serena embraced her tightly.

“You must have suffered so much,” she whispered softly.

Aisel’s eyes widened.

The child’s tragic past broke Serena’s heart. Born as a noble lady yet living hidden away like a withered tree, never knowing she was the daughter of the Grand Duchess… and ultimately being killed by her own father.

Serena wanted to offer her as much warmth as she could.

“Don’t worry. Sawyer will wake up in a day or two. You don’t need to feel guilty, Lady Aisel.”

Serena thought her son had endured a lot for his age, but compared to Aisel, it was nothing.

“Duchess…”

Aisel was speechless, overwhelmed by emotion in Serena’s warm embrace.

“But I can’t just let this go,” Serena said.

“Huh?”

“If you feel sorry… then I have one request.”

“A request?”

Serena teased gently, though her voice was warm.

“Be happy.”

She meant it with all her heart, brushing Aisel’s platinum hair softly.

“Promise me you’ll be happier than anyone else.”

Aisel pressed her lips together, unable to reply. Her throat was too tight with emotion.

Behind Serena, Diana watched and nodded quietly.

Tears finally fell from Aisel’s eyes.

Since returning to the past, she had never allowed herself to rest. She was afraid that if she stopped or failed to grow stronger, the same terrible future would repeat.

Her ultimate goal had always been revenge—against Alicia, Catherine, and Calypso, the ones who had tormented her and her mother and ultimately killed them.

But now… Serena’s words filled her chest with a strange warmth.

Aisel burst into tears and ran into Diana’s arms.

“Mother… do you think… I can really… be happy?”

“…Of course. You can,” Diana said, choking back her own sobs.

Aisel cried in her mother’s embrace, unable to hold back the grief of all those years.

Diana hugged her tightly. It broke her heart that such a young child had already learned how to cry silently.

Serena too wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, silently praying for Aisel and Diana’s future to be filled with light.

* * *

“I see…”

Later, after Serena left, Aisel listened quietly as Diana explained everything they had discussed. They had agreed to delay Catherine’s punishment.

Aisel then told Diana about the witness she had found and explained how Catherine had obtained the poison.

Diana’s face darkened.

“She must have an accomplice.”

“An accomplice?”

Diana had never told Aisel about the existence of demons, afraid it might frighten her. But now she hesitated before finally saying,

“Catherine can use magic because… there’s a demon by her side.”

“A demon…?”

A chill ran down Aisel’s spine. Catherine’s strange expression lately now made sense.

“We have to deal with that demon first…” Diana murmured.

“Then we should just ask Rueiri for help,” Aisel suggested carefully, glancing at her mother.

For some reason, Aisel liked Rueiri. If her mother were to remarry, she wished it could be with him.

But ever since the magic festival, Diana had changed Aisel’s teacher, and Rueiri had asked Aisel to keep his visit a secret. The air between them felt strained, like walking on a tightrope.

Aisel looked at Diana’s stiff expression in confusion.

“…We can’t see Rueiri anymore,” Diana finally said.

“Why not?”

Aisel asked innocently. Diana only gave a bitter smile, her heart aching with longing.

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

“The Duchess told me earlier… to be happy.”

Aisel’s round eyes looked up at her mother. Diana nodded, not understanding her point.

“She’s right. That goes for you too, Mother.”

“…What?”

Diana stared at Aisel, who had suddenly taken her hand.

“Mother… do you like Rueiri?”

Children could ask such direct questions.

Diana froze, her mouth opening and closing silently.

“Aisel, I…”

“Liking someone isn’t wrong.”

“…But—”

“Calypso was the one who betrayed you first,” Aisel said, her eyes flashing.

“Even if you like Rueiri, you’ve done nothing wrong. You can love him proudly.”

Diana fell silent, lost in thought.

Could she truly say she loved Rueiri? Did she even have the right to confess it to him?

She shut her eyes tightly.

“…Yes. Once all the revenge is over, once I leave Calypso and stand proudly before the law of the empire… then…”

She would tell Rueiri.

That she loved him.

That he had been so precious to her she had pushed him away for his own happiness.

“Yes… I want to be happy too,” Diana whispered.

Aisel hugged her mother tightly, blinking back tears. She wanted so badly for someone to warm her mother’s empty heart, one left hollow by endless betrayal.

As their identical eyes met, they both smiled softly.

At that moment, a dark energy began to seep from Diana’s body.

“Wha…?”

“Mother!”

Diana pushed Aisel away just as thick black smoke engulfed her.

“Ah…!”

Aisel fell to the ground but immediately ran back into the smoke to save her.

But the moment she stepped in, Diana vanished with the smoke.